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Arena (episode)
Kirk battles an alien captain who destroyed a Federation outpost. Summary Captain Kirk and a landing party -- Spock, Leonard H. McCoy, O'Herlihy, Kelowitz and Lang -- beam down to the Earth observation outpost on Cestus III at the invitation of its commander, Commodore Travers. Arriving, they discover the invitation a ruse and the colony destroyed. As Spock discovers other life forms, the landing party comes under attack. O'Herlihy dies almost immediately, disintegrated, and then the shelling begins. At the same time, the USS Enterprise (NCC-1701) comes under attack in orbit. With her screens up, the Enterprise cannot beam up the landing party. Kirk finally breaks the siege by returning fire with a grenade launcher that fortuitously survived the initial bombardment. The aliens, perhaps afraid of stiffer resistance, decamp to their own ship. Kirk and the surviving members of the landing party are able to return to the Enterprise. Kirk concludes that the ruse luring him to Cestus III was a trap -- an attempt to destroy the Enterprise, the only protection in that part of the Federation. Such a move, a prelude to invasion, suggests the correct course: overtake and destroy the enemy, before he can return to his home base and report. Kirk orders hot pursuit. Spock argues against destroying the enemy vessel, on the basis of respect for sentient life. Kirk disagrees; his opinion is that a crime has been committed, and the perpetrators must be punished. Closing at warp 8, the Enterprise records a scanning beam from an uncharted solar system at 2466PM. The alien is not approaching this system; it appears that a third party is "curious" about the Enterprise. The alien abruptly begins to slow, going quickly to sublight speed. Kirk closes for the kill, and then ... the Enterprise begins to slow, and is quickly stopped -- just like the alien. The architects of this reveal themselves: they are the Metrons -- an advanced race who regard intrusion into their space for the purpose of conflict as unacceptable. They remove Kirk from the Enterprise, and the Gorn captain from his vessel, and deposit both of them on a suitably prepared world. There, they will settle their differences, using strength and ingenuity. The Gorn is reptilian, large, and very strong -- but quite slow. Kirk is able to evade him initially, but knows he can't evade him indefinitely. He'll have to find a way to defeat an opponent who is far stronger and tougher. The key may lie in a comment the Metron made -- that the prepared environment contains elements suitable for attack. Attack and evade continue for some time, with Kirk narrowly evading death at the Gorn's claws. The Gorn finally communicates: it proposes that Kirk wait, and promises in exchange to be merciful and quick. Kirk compares this offer to the mercy shown at Cestus III; this enrages the Gorn, who tells Kirk his people regard Cestus III as part of their space. Their attack may actually have been a defense, at least as they see it. The conflict continues, with each individual attacking the other. Finally, Kirk remembers an old, old formula: gunpowder. Using sulfur, charcoal, potassium nitrate, diamonds, and a bamboo-like plant, Kirk constructs a crude cannon. Moments from a fatal attack, Kirk touches off his crude device, incapacitating the Gorn. The Metron appears; Kirk has won the contest. But he has surprised the Metrons, whose analysis did not prepare them for Kirk's demonstration of mercy towards his helpless opponent. The Metron returns both participants to their ships. Although humanity is still half-savage, perhaps in several thousand years, it will be civilized enough to be of interest to the Metrons. Kirk is returned to the Enterprise, and the Enterprise is transported five hundred parsecs (about 1630 light years) away from its previous location. Quotes :Metron: "Perhaps ... in several thousand years ... your people, and mine, shall meet to reach an agreement. You are still half savage ... but there is hope." (To the Gorn) "No... no, I won't kill you. Maybe you thought you were protecting yourself... when you attacked the outpost." (To the Metrons) "No, I won't kill him -- do you hear? You'll have to get your entertainment somplace else!" --Kirk "Yes... Good, good... He knows, Doctor -- he has reasoned it out!" --Spock on Kirk's attempts to make a crude cannon Background Information * This screenplay was adapted from an original story, also titled "Arena", that was first published in 1944, in the pages of Astounding magazine. "The Outer Limits" did a story similar to Arena that might have also had its genesis in Fredric Brown's story, an episode entitled "Fun and Games." * In his final speech, the Metron informs Kirk that, because he demonstrated mercy, he will not be destroyed. This suggests that the Metrons planned to destroy both combatants, or the winner. Initially, they said they planned to destroy the loser, "in the interests of peace". * The scenes on the planet surface were filmed at Vasquez Rocks, California, the same location used for "Friday's Child". Several shots from Kirk's fight with the Gorn on the planet were seen in the film Bill & Ted's Bogus Journey. The two main characters in that film also visited Vasquez Rocks, California. * The fort set, retouched here with science-fiction trappings and location signs, can be seen in several early episodes of "The Wild, Wild West." This set was originally constructed for the film "Beau Geste." * The overhead shot of the destroyed outpost that closes the teaser and opens Act One is one of the series' most impressive camera shots. A piece of crinkled "stone" wall from the prop department was matted in to hide studio buildings that would have otherwise been visible in this very wide view. * An identical translating device is seen later in "Metamorphosis." It seems logical that the Federation used the Metron technology to design their own-- yet Kirk doesn't have the device when he returns to the ship! * Wah Chang contributed to the universe of 'Star Trek' yet again by designing and building the Gorn costume. * Kirk dumps all of the materials for his primitive "cannon", including powders of potassium nitrate and sulphur, into his bamboo tube, but is somehow able to separate them out into neat piles when he's assembling the weapon. * Look carefully at the planet Cestus III- it is a globe of the Earth, printed backwards and tinted a hazy orange. * In what just might have been a nod and a wink by casting director Joe D'Agosta and writer Gene L. Coon, Vic Perrin's dialogue as the Metron has a few phrases that are quite similar to his "Control Voice" narration on "The Outer Limits." * The phaser control room reports that aft phasers are ready. This is the first time we are given evidence in dialogue that the Enterprise (and the Constitution class ships in general) have aft weaponry. * Harold, the outpost's only survivor wears the recylced uniform worn by Commander Hansen in Balance of Terror. * The Enterprise's 3 double phaser bursts, which Sulu says constitutes a full discharge of phaser banks, fire from an unusual location in this episode; not from near the glowing dome at the bottom of the saucer but from much higher up, closer to where Matt Jeffries originally located the main phaser banks in his early diagrams of the ship which appeared as display diagrams in other episodes and also on the sides of the early AMT Star Trek model kits. * Phasers prove ineffective against the Gorn ship, so Kirk gives the order to "switch" to photon torpedoes, marking the first naming of that weapon in the series. Sulu says they get off a full discharging of photon torpedo "banks" in this episode, which constitutes only two shots, and they are red globular discharges that fire from the glowing dome under the saucer. * In a few explosion scenes, strange shadows can be seen between the blasts and the camera. It is possible that there were shields placed in front of the camera to protect it from the explosives and these were pulled away immediately afterward by the crew. Links and References Main Cast * William Shatner as Kirk * Leonard Nimoy as Spock * DeForest Kelley as McCoy * James Doohan as Scott * George Takei as Sulu * Nichelle Nichols as Uhura Guest Stars * Jerry Ayres as O'Herlihy * Grant Woods as Kelowitz and Commodore Travers (voice, uncredited) * Tom Troupe as Harold * James Farley as Lang * Sean Kenney as DePaul * Carole Shelyne as the Metron * Vic Perrin as the Metron voice (uncredited) * Bobby Clark and Gary Coombs as the Gorn (uncredited) * Ted Cassidy as the Gorn voice (uncredited) * Eddie Paskey as Leslie (uncredited) * Frank da Vinci as Brent (uncredited) * William Blackburn as Hadley (uncredited) * Ron Veto as Harrison (uncredited) * Dick Dial as Kirk's stunt double References Archanis; asteroid; Canopus; Cestus III; chef; Gorn; Grenade launcher; Metron; shields; Sirius; tactical officer; transporter; Travers; warp drive Category:TOS episodes de:Ganz neue Dimensionen nl:Arena sv:Arena